Wednesday, October 6th, 2021 

Facebook boosts profits with harmful content 

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen on Tuesday testified to the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection that the company’s platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, harm children, and spread misinformation and hate. “Facebook’s products harm children, stoke division, and weaken our democracy,” said Haugen, a data scientist hired at Facebook’s civil integrity unit in 2019. “The company’s leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer but won’t make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people.” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg called coverage of Haugen’s claims misleading, saying it would be “deeply illogical” for Facebook to prioritize harmful content because that would drive away advertisers. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who led the hearing, said he would call for federal regulators to investigate Facebook.THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Missouri executes man despite pope’s plea Missouri conducted its first execution since May 2020 on Tuesday night, killing Ernest Lee Johnson, 61, with a lethal injection at the state prison in Bonne Terre. Gov. Mike Parsons (R) on Monday night had declined pleas to commute Johnson’s death sentence, including from Pope Francis and two members of Missouri’s congressional delegation. In a final statement shared by the Missouri Department of Corrections, Johnson expressed remorse for killing three people during a 1994 convenience store robbery and thanked those who supported him. Johnson’s lawyers had argued that executing him was unconstitutional, citing a 2002 Supreme Court ruling, because he was intellectually disabled since birth, noting his IQ was between 67 and 77, and his mental capacity declined further after 20 percent of his brain tissue was removed in a 2008 surgery to remove part of a tumor. ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 

Capitol Police pull man out of suspicious SUV outside Supreme Court Capitol Police on Tuesday pulled a man out of a “suspicious vehicle” parked near the Supreme Court and detained him. The arresting officers closed roads in the area and deployed a flash bang device before taking the man into custody. “One of our teams just moved in and extracted the man from the SUV,” Capitol Police said on Twitter. “Everyone is safe.” The Supreme Court returned Monday to start a new term with several critical issues on the docket, including a challenge to the Roe v. Wade decision that established the constitutional right to an abortion. Other issues coming before the court, now with an expanded 6-3 conservative majority, include gun rights and the separation of church and state. CNN 

Controversial N.Y. police union head steps down after FBI raid The board of the New York Police Department’s Sergeants Benevolent Association, one of the city’s main police unions, said Tuesday it had requested the resignation of its controversial president, Ed Mullins, who is “apparently the target” of a federal investigation. Mullins agreed to step down. Earlier Tuesday, the FBI had raided the SBA’s Manhattan headquarters and Mullins’ home on Long Island. Agents removed at least 11 large cardboard boxes from the union office. The FBI said its agents “were conducting a law enforcement operation pursuant to an ongoing investigation,” without providing details. The search was part of an investigation by the FBI and public corruption unit of the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, The New York Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Biden trims agenda as Democrats seek agreement Democrats on Tuesday started narrowing their differences over President Biden’s $3.5 trillion proposal to expand the social safety net. Biden suggested trimming it to $1.9 trillion to $2.2 trillion. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), leader of the influential Congressional Progressive Caucus, reportedly countered by saying the spending plan should be no smaller than $2.5 trillion, with $2.9 trillion necessary to cover key programs. Moderate Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who has called for spending no more than $1.5 trillion, reportedly have hinted they would go up to $1.9 trillion to $2.2 trillion. The back and forth came after disagreements over the larger bill forced House Democratic leaders to postpone a separate-but-linked $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. THE WASHINGTON POST 

3 win Nobel physics prize for work on climate change Three scientists — Syukuro Manabe of Princeton University, Klaus Hasselmann of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, Germany, and Giorgio Parisi of the Sapienza University of Rome — received the Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for their work on climate change. Manabe in 1967 came up with a computer model that confirmed carbon dioxide’s link to warming. Hasselmann’s model connected rain and other kinds of weather to long-term changes like ocean currents. Mann’s work helped show how climate change influenced such events as droughts and heat waves. “The discoveries being recognized this year demonstrate that our knowledge about the climate rests on a solid scientific foundation, based on a rigorous analysis of observations,” said Thors Hans Hansson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Trump falls off ‘Forbes’ list of richest Americans Former President Donald Trump’s fortune has fallen to about $2.5 billion, enough to get him bumped off of Forbes‘ list of America’s richest people. Trump was $400 million short of enough to make the list, which was released Tuesday. It was the first time in 25 years he failed to make the cut. Trump was on the top half of the list from 1997 to 2016. Trump’s financial decisions played a role in his fall. For example, he decided to hold onto his assets when he took office in 2017, costing him about $2 billion. If he had put his money into an index fund, he could have piled up $4.5 billion by 2021. The coronavirus pandemic also reduced his wealth, much of which is in big-city properties that were hit hard by lockdowns that kept people out of offices. FORBES 

Tuesday,  October 5th, 2021 

Microsoft launches Windows 11, its latest version of the Microsoft Windows operating system. The upgrade to Windows 11 will be free for Windows 10 users. (BBC News) 

A report by Amnesty International says that the Taliban has executed 13 Hazaras, including eleven former members of the government, shorty after the fall of Kabul. The Taliban denies that they were behind the killings. (Al Jazeera) 

Russian actress Yulia Peresild and film director Klim Shipenko launch into space onboard Soyuz MS-19 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in southern Kazakhstan. They intend to film scenes for The Challenge, which will be the first feature-length movie filmed in outer space, on the International Space Station over one week before returning to Earth. (AFP via The Moscow Times) 

Two further Chinese real-estate developers, Fantasia Holdings and Sinic Holdings, with liabilities of $12.8 billion and $14.2 billion respectively, both fail to make bond payments amid tightening resource availability after Evergrande raised investor concerns, and were both downgraded to “CCC” or “substantial credit risk”. (CNBC) 

Russia reports a record 895 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 211,696. (Interfax) 

Prime Minister Jacinda Arden announces the details of the COVID-19 vaccine certificates, which showing full vaccination status, in order to enter large-scale events. The vaccine certificate is expected to come into use in November. (TVNZ) 

UK special envoy Simon Gass meets with Taliban Deputy Prime Ministers Abdul Ghani Baradar and Abdul Salam Hanafi in Kabul for the first time since the takeover of the country to discuss Afghanistan’s growing humanitarian crisis and terrorism, and to guarantee safe passage to those wishing to emigrate. Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi also said they discussed the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations, with him saying the foreign ministry wishes to “begin a new chapter of constructive relations”. (Al Jazeera) 

Two prison guards are taken hostage at a prison in Condé-sur-Sarthe, Normandy, France. One of the hostages is injured. The hostage-taker later surrenders. (Reuters) 

Nine barracks at the former Auschwitz concentration camp, now the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, are vandalized with Holocaust denial graffiti. (MSN) 

Prosecutor General of Moldova Alexandru Stoianoglo is suspended from his positions by President Maia Sandu, and is detained by security forces following allegations of corruption. (Reuters) 

The Romanian government is dissolved following a no confidence vote against the centrist government of Prime Minister Florin Cîțu. (Reuters) 

The Libyan House of Representatives votes to postpone the parliamentary elections initially scheduled for December 24, alongside the presidential election, until January 2022. (AFP via Al Jazeera) 

Climatologists Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann and theoretical physicist Giorgio Parisi are awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work towards the understanding of physical systems through climate models. (AFP via NDTV) 

Francis Collins to step down as head of NIH  National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, 71, plans to announce his resignation as the agency’s leader on Tuesday, according to media reports. Collins, who has led the NIH for 12 years, will return to his lab at the National Human Genome Research Institute, which is part of NIH, The Washington Post said. A physician-geneticist, Collins led efforts to map the human genetic code. More recently he helped lead the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. A former atheist who converted to Christianity as a young adult, he has crafted some pro-vaccine messaging for religious Americans. In September, he referred to the vaccine as “what you could call an answer to a prayer,” adding, “why wouldn’t you say, ‘Thank you, God,’ and roll up your sleeve?” POLITICO

Two prison guards are taken as hostages at a prison in Condé-sur-Sarthe, France. One of the hostages is reported injured. (Reuters) 

A court in the Holy See agrees to return to the investigative phase of an ongoing trial against Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu for alleged embezzlement, abuse of power and fraud, among other charges. Becciu was fired from his position in the Vatican by Pope Francis in 2020 for alleged nepotism, which Becciu also denies. (Reuters) 

Facebook apps return after hours-long outage Facebook and its apps, including WhatsApp and Instagram, went down worldwide on Monday, as did the internal systems used by the social media giant’s employees. “This is epic,” said Doug Madory, director of internet analysis for network-monitoring company Kentik Inc. The services were out for hours, far longer than the last major internet outage, which occurred in June and kept the world’s top internet sites offline for less than an hour. The company said its engineers found that changes to the internet infrastructure of its servers disrupted network traffic between its data centers, “bringing our services to a halt.” Facebook eventually restored service by resetting server computers at a data center in Santa Clara, California. “We’re sorry,” the company said. “Thank you for bearing with us.” THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Andrew Yang announces departure from Democratic Party  Andrew Yang, who ran unsuccessful campaigns for president and New York City mayor, announced Monday that he was leaving the Democratic Party, which he joined in the 1990s in support of then-President Bill Clinton’s reelection effort. Yang said in a blog post that joining the party back then was “a no-brainer to me,” but that he came to feel that the affiliation was “something of an odd fit.” “I’ve been a Democrat my entire adult life,” Yang wrote. “And yet, I’m confident that no longer being a Democrat is the right thing.” Politico reported last month that Yang planned to form a third party because he believed neither Democrats nor Republicans addressed the needs of many Americans. The announcement came days ahead of the release of Yang’s book, Forward: Notes on the Future of Our Democracy. The new party is expected to be called the Forward Party. POLITICO 

Supreme Court rules against appeal for D.C. House vote  The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an effort to give District of Columbia residents a voting representative in Congress. The justices upheld a lower court ruling against 11 Washington residents who argued that the Constitution gives Congress the power to grant D.C. residents voting representation in the House of Representatives. “Residents of the District of Columbia are the only adult American citizens subject to federal income taxes who lack voting representation in Congress, except for felons in some states,” the plaintiffs told the justices in a brief earlier this year. A three-judge panel rejected that position, citing a decision in an earlier case that found that the Constitution says House members should be chosen by “the people of the several states,” which leaves out D.C. because it isn’t a state. USA TODAY 

J&J to ask FDA to authorize its COVID booster shot Johnson & Johnson plans to ask the Food and Drug Administration this week to authorize the company’s coronavirus vaccine booster shot, The New York Times reported Monday, citing officials familiar with the plans. Johnson & Johnson, which makes a one-dose vaccine, will be the last of the three federally-authorized vaccine providers to start a push for a booster. The push comes as trials show that at least older adults and people in high-risk groups could benefit significantly from more protection. Federal officials have grown concerned that the more than 15 million Americans who got Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine are at too great a risk of severe COVID-19. Pfizer’s booster has been authorized for some people, and regulators are considering clearing Moderna’s booster. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Monday,  October 4th, 2021 

Fauci says ‘too soon to tell’ if Americans can gather for holidays Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that the United States was “turning the corner” on the current coronavirus surge driven by the Delta variant, but that it’s “just too soon to tell” if Americans will be able to safely gather in larger groups during the coming holiday season. Fauci, President Biden’s top public adviser, told CBS News’ Margaret Brennan on Sunday’s edition of Face the Nation that if the country stays “laser focused” on getting COVID-19 cases down that it may be possible, adding that increasing the number of vaccinations and booster shots (where applicable) could go a long way toward achieving that goal. The comments come a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its latest recommendations for celebrating the holidays, urging people to keep windows open for better air circulation if gathering indoors. CBS NEWS 

Farmers vow to intensify their protest against laws aimed at liberalising agriculture, after four farmers were rammed and killed yesterday in Uttar Pradesh by a vehicle owned by Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Kumar Mishra. Three members of the party and the driver of the vehicle were then killed by protesters. A journalist was also found dead today near the scene of the violence. (Al Jazeera) 

The Taliban says it has “destroyed an IS–K cell” in Kabul following yesterday’s bombing at a mosque during the memorial for the mother of Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. Mujahid says that a special Taliban unit carried out the operation and that the base was destroyed and everyone inside was killed. (Deutsche Welle) 

Chinese state-run tabloid Global Times reports that Chinese property developer Evergrande Group will sell 51% of its property service arm to rival company Hopson Development for US$5 billion. The report comes as both Hopson and Evergrande suspended trading in their shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in the morning, pending an announcement about a “major transaction”. (CNBC) (AFP via The Jakarta Post) 

The main cone of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma collapses, increasing the lava flow into the Atlantic Ocean. The main lava flow is now 1.2 km across at its widest point. (El Pais) 

The Australian government signs an agreement with Merck Sharp & Dohme to buy 300,000 courses of the antiviral drug molnupiravir, pending regulator clearance, which would be the first pill to treat COVID-19 patients. (9 News) 

The parliament of Singapore passes a law aimed to outlaw foreign interference in domestic affairs. Opponents of the measure have expressed concerns regarding the broadness of certain provisions that may potentially hinder some civil liberties. (AFP via The Guardian) 

Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus experience an extended global outage that began at 15:39 UTC. Some experts believe that the outage was caused by a BGP update from Facebook. (CNN) (Cloudfare) 

Scientists David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian are awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch”. (Reuters) 

Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. wins the rain-shortened YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, becoming the first African-American to win a NASCAR Cup race since 1963. 

Indian farmers have vowed to intensify their protest against laws aimed at liberalising agriculture, after four farmers were rammed and killed yesterday in Uttar Pradesh by a convoy of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Three members of the party and the driver of the vehicle were then killed by more protestors. The federal minister’s son has been charged for the farmers’ deaths. Also, a journalist has been found dead today near the scene of the violence. (Al Jazeera) 

The Taliban claims to have “destroyed an ISIL-K cell” in Kabul following yesterday’s bombing at a mosque during the memorial to the mother of Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. Mujahid says that a special Taliban unit carried out the operation and that the base was destroyed and all of those inside of it were killed. (Deutsche Welle) 

Twelve Burkinabe soldiers are killed and five others wounded in an attack in the northern Sanmatenga Province. No group has claimed responsibility for the ambush assault. (Reuters) 

A UN report blames all warring sides in Libya of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, particularly agains detainees, migrants, and the extrajudicial executions of prominent women. (Al Jazeera) 

Police in Cyprus have arrested a man suspected of “planning attacks against Israeli people”. Israel have accused Iran of orchestrating the plot. Iran has denied the allegations. Other reports suggest that the plot’s target was businessmen Teddy Sagi and might be linked to business disputes involving him. (BBC) 

China’s state-run tabloid Global Times reports that Chinese property developer Evergrande Group will sell 51% of its property service arm to rival company Hopson Development for US$5 billion. The report comes as both Hopson and Evergrande suspended trading in their shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in the morning, pending an announcement about a “major transaction”. (CNBC) (

Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus experience an extended global outage that started at 15:45 UTC. The issue is still unfixed. Some experts say that it is caused by BGP misconfiguration on Facebook’s side. (CNN) 

Authorities in Orange County, California blame a 41-year-old oil pipeline for yesterday’s spill, releasing as of today 3,000 barrels of oil into the Pacific Ocean and severely damaging coasts in Southern California. (Reuters) 

The Australian government signs an agreement with Merck Sharp & Dohme to buy 300,000 courses of promising antiviral drug molnupiravir, if cleared by regulators, which would be the first pill to treat COVID-19 patients. (9 News) 

New Zealand drops elimination strategy to combating COVID-19 in favour of a new model that contains vaccination rates amid persistent outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant. (The Guardian) 

The Public Health Agency of Sweden recommends children aged 12 to 15 years old to be vaccinated against COVID-19 using the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. (The Straits Times) 

Insulate Britain held a sit-in protest in three major routes into London, including Blackwall Tunnel. The group have stated that they will not stop protesting until the government have concrete plans to retrofit around 29 million buildings which according to the group has insufficient insulation. (ITV News) 

Kosovo and Serbia today are starting to implement the sticker regime by which they are covering national symbols and country abbreviations on their respective vehicle license plates with a sticker when they are in the non-host country, agreed on 4 days prior in Brussels, with normal traffic on their border fully resuming. (Exit News) 

The North and South Korean governments reinstate the Seoul–Pyongyang hotline after the former severed connection in early August, in protest against the latter’s military exercises with the United States. (AFP via France 24) 

Deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi asks to reduce her time in court appearances saying her health has deteriorated. The judge is set to make a decision on her request later. Suu Kyi faces multiple charges ranging from corruption to money laundering. (The Guardian) 

American scientists David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian are awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch”. (Reuters) 

 
Oil spill shuts down Southern California’s Huntington Beach Oil from an offshore spill reached the coast of Southern California on Sunday, threatening wildlife and forcing authorities to shut down Huntington Beach. The Pacific Airshow’s final day was canceled to avoid complicating the cleanup, and people were urged not to swim or surf nearby. The city said workers were using skimming equipment and booms to prevent the oil from reaching the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve and Huntington Beach Wetlands. The U.S. Coast Gard reported the spill on Saturday. Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said 3,000 barrels, or about 126,000 gallons, leaked from an oil production facility about 4.5 miles offshore. ABC NEWS 

Supreme Court starts new term with abortion, guns on the docket  The Supreme Court will convene Monday to hear its first in-person arguments since the March 2020 coronavirus lockdown. The high court, with a newly expanded 6-3 conservative majority, has a politically charged docket. The court will consider trimming or eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion established in the landmark Roe v. Wade case. The justices also will hear cases that could lead to expanded gun rights and a narrowing of the separation between church and state. Chief Justice John Roberts, who once firmly guided the court as its ideological center, now has five more conservative justices to his right, with the replacement of liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Polls show Americans increasingly see the court as partisan rather than impartial. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Facebook whistleblower reveals identity on ’60 Minutes’  A Facebook whistleblower who released internal research indicating the company was aware its social media platforms, including Instagram, could harm teens revealed her identity Sunday night on CBS’ 60 Minutes. “The thing I saw at Facebook over and over again was there were conflicts of interest between what was good for the public and what was good for Facebook, and Facebook over and over again chose to optimize for its own interests, like making more money,” said the whistleblower, Frances Haugen, a 37-year-old former Facebook product manager who worked on civic integrity issues. Facebook has called the allegations “misleading.” “To suggest we encourage bad content and do nothing is just not true,” said Facebook spokesperson Lena Pietsch. CBS NEWS 

Bomb kills at least 5 outside Kabul mosque A roadside bomb exploded outside a mosque in the Afghan capital of Kabul, killing at least five civilians, the Taliban said Sunday. The blast occurred at the gate of the Eid Gah Mosque during a memorial service for the mother of chief Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. The Taliban committed many similar attacks over the course of a 20-year insurgency they waged after being driven from power by a U.S.-led invasion, but since they returned to power in mid-August they have faced bombings and shooting sprees blamed on rival groups. Three suspects were arrested for the Sunday explosion, which reportedly didn’t injure any members of the Taliban. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Report: Pandora Papers show how world leaders hide wealth The Washington Post reported Sunday that millions of private financial records shared with the newspaper showed that members of the global elite, including King Abdullah II of Jordan and other country leaders, used a secretive offshore system to hide billions of dollars from tax authorities, creditors, criminal investigators, and others. The documents detailed the Jordanian king spent more than $100 million on luxury homes in Malibu, California, and other places. Leaders of the Czech Republic, Kenya, Ecuador, and other nations hid millions of dollars’ worth of property and cash. The trove of documents, called the Pandora Papers, was far larger than the Panama Papers disclosed in an investigation five years ago. THE WASHINGTON POST 

Japanese lawmakers elect Fumio Kishida as prime minister Japan’s parliament formally elected Fumio Kishida as the country’s new prime minister on Monday. The selection of the former foreign minister to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga was all but guaranteed after he was elected leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party last week. Kishida, who is the country’s 100th prime minister, is stacking his Cabinet with allies of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, although 13 of the 20 members have no previous Cabinet experience. He inherits an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as intensifying security threats from China and North Korea. Suga decided not to seek another term as leader of his party following a rough year in which his popularity sank over complaints about his government’s response to the pandemic. CNN 

Biden to promote infrastructure in trip to Michigan President Biden plans to travel to Michigan this week to rally support for his economic agenda as Democrats continue to fight internally over the legislation, the White House said Sunday. “I believe I can get this done,” Biden said over the weekend. Biden’s Build Back Better agenda includes a $1 trillion infrastructure bill with $550 billion in new spending, and a $3.5 trillion spending package that would expand the social safety net and fund climate initiatives, all largely paid for by raising corporate and wealth taxes. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) last week delayed a vote on the infrastructure bill as Democrats fought over the size of the larger spending package. THE HILL 

Merkel urges Germans to unite to protect democracy  Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans to keep fighting to strengthen the country’s democracy in an address marking the 31st anniversary of the reunification of East and West Germany. “Democracy isn’t simply there,” Merkel said in what was likely to be one of her last major speeches after a decade and a half in power. “Rather, we must work for it together, again and again, every day.” Merkel warned that the current climate of misinformation threatened the progress the country had made since the Soviet-allied East German, where she grew up, reunified with West Germany at the end of the Cold War. Merkel cited such incidents as the killing of one of her party’s regional politicians, an assault on a synagogue in the eastern city where she spoke, and the recent fatal shooting of a gas station clerk who told a customer to wear a mask as examples of dangerous radicalization. REUTERS 

Tom Brady sets record in triumphant return to New England Superstar quarterback Tom Brady made football history Sunday night as he led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 19-17 win over his former team, the New England Patriots, in his first game back in Foxborough, Massachusetts, since leaving his old team in 2020. On the Buccaneers’ second offensive series of the night, Brady became the NFL’s career leader in passing yards when he completed a 28-yard pass to Mike Evans, pushing him past Drew Brees’ mark of 80,358 yards. Brady also became only the fourth NFL quarterback — along with Brees, Brett Favre, and Peyton Manning — to lead his team to victory against all 32 NFL teams. Brady said his former teammates and rookie Patriots quarterback Mac Jones “have a really good football team and made us earn it.” NBC SPORTS 

The End

Wednesday, September 29th, 2021 

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace approves a request for 150 military tanker drivers to help deliver fuel to petrol stations. The Petrol Retailers Association says that 37% of its 5,500 stations have run out of fuel. (BBC) 

The United Kingdom’s Department for Transport announces that it is seizing control of train operating company Southeastern beginning next month following a “serious breach” of financial conduct. An investigation found that around £25 million in taxpayer funding is currently unaccounted for. (Sky News) 

NASA announces the scheduled launch of Lucy, a 12-year space probe on the Jupiter trojan asteroids, the first mission to do so. It will launch from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on October 16. (AFP via The Straits Times) 

U.K. readies troops to help deliver fuel to gas stations Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday placed British army troops “on standby” in case they are needed to drive trucks to deliver fuel to gas stations running low due to panic buying and labor shortages. The United States and other countries have faced a labor crunch caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but in the United Kingdom the problem has been even worse, because the country’s departure from the European Union has cut off the free movement of workers from Eastern Europe. Those workers used to accept low-paid jobs many Britons avoid, including positions working in nursing homes and driving cargo trucks. British officials said the country has adequate fuel supplies, but is struggling to get it from ports and refineries to the pump.  THE WASHINGTON POST 

Top general calls Afghanistan a ‘strategic failure’ Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, defended the withdrawal of the last U.S. forces from Afghanistan last month in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, although he acknowledged that the process did not go according to plans. He said the evacuation operation was successful, but that the nation’s war was a “strategic failure.” “Strategically, the war was lost. The enemy is in Kabul,” Milley said in reference to the Taliban, who regained control of the country as U.S. forces prepared to leave. Top generals told senators that they had advised President Biden and his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, to keep about 2,500 American troops in Afghanistan, contradicting Biden, who has said nobody warned him against going through with a full withdrawal as arranged by the Trump administration. POLITICO 

Yellen warns government running out of options to avoid debt default Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday warned lawmakers that the federal government would run out of ways to avoid a catastrophic federal-debt default by Oct. 18 unless Congress raises the debt ceiling. Economists say a default would send financial markets plunging and delay payments to millions of Americans. Yellen also warned that the deadline could come earlier depending on “unavoidable” shifts in the federal government’s cash flows. “This uncertainty underscores the critical importance of not waiting to raise or suspend the debt limit. The full faith and credit of the United States should not be put at risk,” Yellen wrote. Senate Republicans have said they would not provide any votes to raise the debt ceiling.  CNN 

Pfizer gives FDA trial data on pediatric vaccine  Pfizer and BioNTech announced Tuesday that they had submitted trial data to the Food and Drug Administration indicating that their coronavirus vaccine was safe to administer to children ages 5 to 11. The drugmakers said they would request authorization to start distributing the shots within weeks. The news came as many parents express eagerness to get young kids vaccinated now that they are back in school. The FDA said it would analyze the trial results quickly. About 28 million children in that age group would be eligible for the vaccine. About 17 million young people ages 12 to 15 became eligible to get vaccinated in May. About 42 percent of the older children have been fully vaccinated, compared to 66 percent of adults. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Democrats scramble to salvage Biden agenda and avoid shutdown  Democrats hit an impasse Tuesday in their negotiations to resolve infighting over legislation needed to avert a government shutdown and a default on federal debt, as well as two massive spending bills that are crucial parts of President Biden’s economic and social agenda. A group of progressive House Democrats said they would defy House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) by opposing a bipartisan infrastructure bill coming to a scheduled vote on Thursday, because a bigger, $3.5 trillion spending package they want is still being negotiated. Meanwhile, President Biden is talking directly to moderate Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who have said they won’t support the huge budget bill without significant cuts. Democrats need all 50 of their votes in the evenly split Senate to push through that legislation. BLOOMBERG

Fumio Kishida wins party run-off to become Japan’s presumptive prime minister Fumio Kishida, Japan’s former foreign minister, won a run-off election for leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership on Wednesday, all but guaranteeing he will be the country’s next prime minister. Kishida is set to replace the outgoing Yoshihide Suga as prime minister on Monday following a special parliamentary session. Suga has served just one year in power. His popularity dropped sharply due to criticism of his response to the coronavirus pandemic. Kishida, a 64-year-old moderate party stalwart, was preferred by the party elite over his chief rival, Taro Kono, an outspoken American-educated maverick, in the 257-170 runoff vote dominated by the party’s members of parliament. THE WASHINGTON POST

Maryland judge sentences ‘Capital Gazette’ killer to 5 life terms A Maryland judge on Tuesday sentenced Jarrod Ramos to five life sentences without parole for fatally shooting five people in the Capital Gazette newsroom in 2018. A jury in July rejected Ramos’ insanity plea and found him guilty on murder, assault, and other charges connected to the killings. The victims included Rob Hiaasen, 59, the newspaper’s deputy editor; Gerald Fischman, 61, editorial page editor; sports reporter and editor John McNamara, 56; Wendi Winters, 65, a reporter; and Rebecca Smith, 34, a sales assistant. “To say the defendant showed a callous and cruel disregard for the sanctity of human life is simply an understatement,” said Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Michael Wachs. “What I impose is what the defendant deserves.” NPR 

North Korea says it tested a hypersonic missile North Korea said Wednesday that its military successfully fired a newly developed hypersonic missile on Tuesday, the latest in a series of weapon launches. The state-run KCNA news agency called the missile “a strategic weapon,” implying it has nuclear capabilities. KCNA also said that “national defense scientists confirmed the navigational control and stability of the missile,” including “the guiding maneuverability and the gliding flight characteristics of the detached hypersonic gliding warhead.” Tuesday’s launch took place shortly before North Korea’s U.N. envoy demanded that the United States and South Korea stop joint military exercises. Over the weekend, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s influential sister, Kim Yo Jong, said her country would resume talks with South Korea if it ends what she called its “hostile policies.” AXIOS 

Obama breaks ground on his presidential library Former President Barack Obama broke ground Tuesday on his presidential library alongside former first lady Michelle Obama. The ceremony marked the start of the final push to finish the long-delayed Obama Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side. Obama said he wanted the center to be a place dedicated to strengthening democratic ideals rather than being a “static museum.” “I don’t believe it’s inevitable that we succumb to paralysis or mutual hatred or abandon democracy in favor of systems that reserve power and privilege for the few as has been true throughout our history,” the former president said. “I believe we have it in us to re-imagine our institutions. To make them responsive to today’s challenges and rebuild our societies in a way that give more and more people a better life.” CNN 

Coronavirus-delayed Bond film has world premiere The highly anticipated new James Bond film No Time to Die had its world premiere Tuesday in London. The film’s release, originally scheduled for early March 2020, was one of the first to be postponed when theaters were shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Charles, and Camilla Parker-Bowles were among the guests who attended the London premiere, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “Thank you all for coming tonight,” Daniel Craig, who stars as Bond in the movie for the last time, said on the red carpet. “This is amazing. I really, genuinely didn’t think we’d get here, but we are.” Craig thanked MGM and Universal for “holding their nerve” to ensure that the film would still debut in movie theaters. THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 

Tuesday,  September 28th, 2021 

At least 50 civilians were killed by a Nigerian Air Force airstrike at a fish market in the village of Daban Masara, Borno State, two days ago. The military has imposed a ban on fishing in the area due to allegations that ISWAP was using the sales of the fish to fund their operations. (Reuters) 

Mali accuses France of “abandoning the country” by reducing its forces in the fight against jihadist groups. In response to the remarks, France accuses Mali’s military junta of “wiping their feet on the blood of French soldiers”. (Channel 4) 

Five Sudanese security forces personnel are killed and a sixth is injured during clashes with an IS-linked group in Khartoum. Eleven terrorists are arrested. (Reuters) 

Women are barred from working or attending classes at Kabul University by the university’s Taliban-appointed chancellor Mohammad Ashraf Ghairat. Ghairat says that “as long as [a] real Islamic environment is not provided for all, women will not be allowed to come to universities or work.” (The Hill) 

Spain declares the island of La Palma a “disaster zone” as the Cumbre Vieja volcano continues to erupt and produce lava flows. (Reuters) 

Lava flows from the volcano have reached the Atlantic Ocean after nine days, causing a massive cloud, according to local residents. (Reuters) 

The Subject Expert Committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation will allow the Serum Institute of India to conduct trials of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine in children between the ages of 7 and 11 years. (Business Standard) 

Jarrod Ramos is sentenced to life in prison for the June 2018 killings of five employees in a mass shooting at Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland, United States. (MSN) 

Twenty-four people are killed and 42 others are wounded during a battle between rival gangs at a prison in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Some of the inmates were armed with guns and grenades. (Al Jazeera) 

The End Wednesday 

Tuesday,  September 28th, 2021 

Jury finds R. Kelly guilty in sex-trafficking trial A federal jury in New York on Monday found R&B singer R. Kelly guilty of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges. Prosecutors said Kelly used agents, bodyguards, and others to lure and trap girls and young women he then sexually abused. Kelly also was convicted of violating the Mann Act, which bars travel over state lines for illegal sex. Kelly will be sentenced in May, and faces from 10 years to life in prison. Kelly’s lawyer, Deveraux Cannick, said the defense was “disappointed with the verdict” and was considering an appeal. Acting U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn M. Kasulis said the jury “delivered a powerful message to men like R. Kelly” that they will be held accountable. CHICAGO TRIBUNE 

Hospitals brace for staff shortages as vaccine mandates kick in Hospitals and nursing homes braced for staff shortages on Monday as deadlines arrived for health-care workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in several states, including New York and California. Some administrators fear some employees will quit or face dismissal or suspension rather than get the shots. “How this is going to play out, we don’t know,” said Jan Emerson-Shea, a spokesperson for the California Hospital Association, which supports the vaccine requirement. “We are concerned about how it will exacerbate an already quite serious staffing problem.” New York health-care employees had until the end of the day Monday to get their first dose, but some hospitals started during the day to suspend holdouts. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

U.S. killings jump by nearly 30 percent  Killings surged by nearly 30 percent in the United States last year, according to data the FBI released Monday. The jump was the largest in a single year since the 1960s, when the federal government started compiling the national figures on murder and manslaughter. The overall violent crime rate rose by 5.6 percent in 2020. Property crimes dropped by 7.8 percent. Criminologists and police officials have been looking into whether the sudden rise in killings could be linked to societal changes brought by the coronavirus pandemic. So far in 2021, homicides have risen, but less sharply than last year. THE WASHINGTON POST 

New Kabul University chancellor bans women from campus Mohammad Ashraf Ghairat, the new Taliban-appointed chancellor of Kabul University, tweeted on Monday that women are now prohibited from studying or teaching at the school. “I give you my words as chancellor of Kabul University, as long as a real Islamic environment is not provided for all, women will not be allowed to come to universities or work,” he said. “Islam first.” The move marks a reversal from earlier in the month, when the Taliban said Afghan women could stay enrolled at universities, as long as they wore burqas and were segregated from male students. However, it is in line with how the Taliban ruled Afghanistan in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when women and girls were barred from going to school and working and had to be accompanied by a male relative while out in public. AXIOS 

Five Sudanese security forces personnel are killed and a sixth is wounded during clashes with an ISIL-linked group in Khartoum. Eleven terrorists are arrested. (Reuters) 

Women are barred from working or attending classes at Kabul University by the university’s Taliban-appointed chancellor Mohammad Ashraf Ghairat. Ghairat says “as long as real Islamic environment is not provided for all, women will not be allowed to come to universities or work. Islam first”. [sic] (The Hill) 

Spain declares the island of La Palma a “disaster zone” as eruptions and lava flows continue from the Cumbre Vieja volcano. (Reuters) 

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announces that the state of emergency that was declared in April is slated to end on September 30, with COVID-19-related restrictions will be gradually eased thenceforth. (NPR) 

Russia reports a record 852 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 205,531. (The Brussels Times) 

Australia and Nauru announce that, last week, they renewed their agreement to maintain a detention center in Nauru for asylum seekers and refugees trying to reach Australia. Australia has provided millions of dollars to maintain the detention center offshore. (RNZ) 

Twenty-five people are injured, four critically, during an explosion at a block of flats in Gothenburg, Sweden. An accident is ruled out, with authorities suspecting a criminal background. (The Guardian) 

In a 35-page report, a commission appointed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to investigate sex abuses during the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo finds that “clear structural failures” and “individual negligence” for the sex abuse and rape of women and girls between 2018 and 2020 by WHO staff. WHO’s head Tedros Adhanom apologizes for the abuses. (France24) 

Senate Republicans block bill needed to avert shutdown Senate Republicans on Monday blocked a measure to avert a government shutdown and possible default on federal debt, pushing the country closer to a fiscal crisis. The vote was 48-50, with 60 votes needed to advance the legislation. No Republicans joined Democrats in support of the bill. Congress has through Thursday to pass a government funding package to prevent a partial government shutdown on Friday. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned Congress might have to act as soon as next month to prevent a first-ever federal debt default. Democrats also are trying to resolve infighting so they can pass a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and a $3.5 trillion spending package. Both bills are crucial for President Biden’s economic agenda. THE HILL

Judge grants John Hinckley unconditional release A federal judge on Monday granted an unconditional release to John Hinckley Jr., who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981. U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman in Washington said Hinckley could remain free as long as he remains mentally stable and follows a set of rules imposed when he left a Washington, D.C., hospital in 2016. Hinckley was 25 years old when he shot and wounded Reagan outside a Washington hotel. He also shot three others, including then-Press Secretary James Brady, who was paralyzed and died in 2014. A jury in 1982 found Hinckley not guilty by reason of insanity, but he was committed to a mental health facility for three decades. “At this point the ball is in Mr. Hinckley’s hands,” assistant U.S. attorney Kacie Weston said at a hearing Monday. USA TODAY

Newsom signs law making universal mail-in voting permanent California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a law requiring that election officials send a mail-in ballot to every registered voter. The move made California the eighth state to make universal mail-in ballots permanent. The policies spread during the pandemic to help people vote in the 2020 election without risk of coronavirus infection. California had already been taking steps for two decades to give voters more options for casting ballots. “Data shows that sending everyone a ballot in the mail provides voters access. And when voters get ballots in the mail, they vote,” Assemblyman Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto), the bill’s author, said in a July Senate committee hearing.LOS ANGELES TIMES 

Dallas and Boston Fed presidents resign amid stock-trade scrutiny The Federal Reserve banks of Dallas and Boston said Monday that their presidents are stepping down after their stock trading during the coronavirus pandemic triggered a review of the central bank’s ethics rules. Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said he decided to retire because “unfortunately, the recent focus on my financial disclosure risks becoming a distraction to the Federal Reserve’s execution of that vital work.” Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said earlier Monday he was stepping down nine months early for health reasons. Kaplan and Rosengren are both 64, and most regional Fed leaders have to retire at 65. Both regional Fed presidents decided to resign separately and were not forced to resign by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, according to The Wall Street Journal. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

Biden administration proposes rule to firm up protections for DREAMers  The Biden administration on Monday proposed a rule seeking to restore a program providing protection against deportation for hundreds of thousands of so-called DREAMers, immigrants who arrived in the United States without documentation when they were children. A federal judge in Houston ruled in July that the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was illegal, largely because of procedural shortcuts taken by the Obama administration. The Biden administration’s rule recreates the 2012 policy but goes through the federal regulatory process to shore up its legality. The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who led a DACA challenge with eight other states, did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Monday,  September 27th, 2021 

ISIL–K leader Mawlawi Ziya ul-Haq is killed and more than 80 fighters are arrested during Taliban raids in the eastern Nangarhar Province. The raids are carried out as IS has killed several people during attacks in Jalalabad in recent days. (Al Jazeera) 

Ten FARC dissidents are killed during a military bombing in Morichal Nuevo, Guainía Department. (Reuters) 

The government places the army on standby to help deliver fuel to petrol stations if it becomes necessary after panic buying has depleted their stocks. The increased demand arose after press reports that the ongoing delivery driver shortage could reduce the availability of fuel. (BBC) 

Power outages are reported in the Northeast China provinces of Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang. Local media said that the cause of the outages was an increase in coal prices. The State Grid Corporation of China said that it would take comprehensive measures to ensure an adequate power supply for people’s basic needs and try its best to avoid power cuts. (BBC) (Xinhuanet) 

The Health Ministry panel committee approve the usage of the single-dose monoclonal antibody-based treatment sotrovimab developed by GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology to treat mild and moderately-ill COVID-19 patients. (The Japan Times) 

Singapore limits the maximum group sizes for social gatherings and dine-ins at restaurants and bars to two people as well as defaulting to work from home in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19. These restrictions will remain in effect until October 24. (Singapore Business Review) 

People over the age of 75 in Vermont can now register to receive a booster shot of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. (AP) 

President Joe Biden receives his third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. (CNBC) 

The government announces that the state of catastrophe and the night curfew in the country will end on October 1. (Cooperativa.cl) 

Afghanistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations Ghulam Isaczai withdraws from the list of speakers at the United Nations General Assembly. The move comes after the Taliban nominated a delegation to represent Afghanistan at the United Nations, although the UN continues to recognize the Ashraf Ghani-led government as the country’s permanent mission. (AFP via Dawn) 

Sudan resumes its importation of oil from neighboring South Sudan, which was temporarily halted due to Darfur War-related protests blocking access to Port Sudan. (AFP via Radio France Internationale) 

Three regions in Poland repeal their status as an “LGBT-free zone” after pressure from the European Commission and activists. The declaration of “free of LGBT ideology” had been imposed in 2019 under heavy pressure from Catholic conservatives in the regions. (Reuters) 

The Provisional Electoral Council postpones indefinitely the election and constitutional referendum for a third time, targeting 7 November 2021, after Prime Minister Ariel Henry dismissed several members of the council. (AFP via Philippine Daily Inquirer) 

UEFA announces that it has abandoned and nullified its disciplinary cases against football clubs Barcelona, Juventus, and Real Madrid over their commitment to the controversial European Super League, following a Madrid court ruling. UEFA also says that it will not request payment of the sums offered by the nine other founding clubs. (AFP via New Straits Times) 

The End Tuesday 

Germany’s center-left Social Democrats narrowly beat Merkel’s bloc Germany’s Social Democrats narrowly beat outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union bloc in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, according to preliminary results. The Social Democrats appeared to have won 26 percent of the vote, while the CDU/CSU got 24.5 percent in their worst showing since the party’s founding in 1945. Social Democrat leader Olaf Scholz said he had a “clear mandate” to lead after 16 years of conservative-led rule under Merkel. With the results so close, Christian Democratic leader Armin Laschet vowed to do “everything possible” to form a ruling coalition himself. Negotiating a coalition deal could take months. The Greens won a record 15 percent, and will demand concessions on climate in negotiations to join a ruling bloc. REUTERS 

Pfizer to submit children’s COVID-19 vaccine data to FDA in days Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Sunday that the company plans to submit the data from COVID-19 vaccine trials for children between ages 5 and 11 to the Food and Drug Administration within “days, not weeks.” Last week, Pfizer revealed that the vaccine it developed in tandem with BioNTech was safe and effective within the age group even with a smaller dose than the one that’s been approved for ages 12 and up. Once the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sign off, younger children will be able to get vaccinated, which will likely help schools prevent outbreaks. Bourla, speaking on ABC’s This Week, also said it would be possible to provide enough doses for both the unvaccinated and those eligible for booster shots. ABC NEWS 

Hungary and Russia sign a natural gas supply deal which will see Gazprom supply Hungary with 4.5 billion cubic metres of gas to Hungary annually via Serbia and Austria for the next 15 years. Ukraine criticizes the gas pact, saying it was a “purely political, economically unreasonable decision”, in response, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto accuses Ukraine of “meddling” in its internal affairs. (Reuters) 

Cumbre Vieja volcano reactivates its activity after lowering it and ceasing to emit lava and ash for a few hours. (El País) 

A 5.8 magnitude earthquake hits the Greek island of Crete, leaving one person dead and twelve more wounded. (Reuters) 

Pelosi delays infrastructure vote as Democrats seek unity House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Sunday night that the House would vote on the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill on Thursday, delaying beyond a previous Monday deadline to give Democrats time to work out their differences on President Biden’s larger domestic policy package. The new timetable would provide just enough time to strike a deal to avert a possible government shutdown. Pelosi said she was still working on getting Democrats unified behind President Biden’s $3.5 trillion spending bill, which Democrats in the evenly split Senate can pass without Republican votes using a process called budget reconciliation. Some moderate Democrats want to make deep cuts to the legislation, and Pelosi said it “seems self-evident” that its cost will be lower. CNBC 

Mayorkas says more than 10,000 Haitians admitted to pursue asylum claims Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday that between 10,000 and 12,000 of the roughly 15,000 Haitian migrants who wound up in a makeshift camp near the Mexico border in Del Rio, Texas, had been admitted to the United States to pursue asylum cases. Several thousand others were deported to Haiti, sparking an outcry from immigrant rights advocates and some of President Biden’s fellow Democrats, who argued that it was inhumane to send migrants home to an impoverished nation struggling to respond to political instability made worse by gang violence and the recent assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Haiti also faces a humanitarian crisis on its southern peninsula following a devastating earthquake. YAHOO NEWS 

Iceland elects female-majority parliament for 1st time Iceland elected its first female-majority parliament over the weekend, making the North Atlantic nation the only one in Europe with women lawmakers outnumbering men. With all votes counted on Sunday, women held 33 seats in Iceland’s 63-seat parliament, the Althing. The three parties in Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir’s outgoing coalition government won 37 seats in the Saturday vote, a two-seat gain likely to allow the coalition to stay in power. Iceland was ranked the world’s most gender-equal nation for the 12th straight year in a World Economic Forum report released in March. It offers men and women the same parental leave, and passed its first law on equal pay for men and women in 1961. Forty-one years ago, it became the first country to elect a female president. BBC NEWS 

Texas governor promises to hire border agents if Biden fires them Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said Sunday that he would hire any Border Patrol agents at risk of being fired by the Biden administration over viral images that showed agents on horseback appearing to use their reins as whips against Haitian migrants crossing the border from Mexico. “If they are at risk of losing their job by a president who is abandoning his duty to secure the border, you have a job in the state of Texas,” Abbott said on Fox News Sunday. “I will hire you to help Texas secure our border.” Biden has condemned the images, and the Department of Homeland Security has launched an investigation of the incident. Attorney General Merrick Garland has threatened to sue Abbott for overstepping his authority on border policy. THE HILL 

San Marino residents vote to legalize abortion San Marino voters on Sunday overwhelmingly backed a proposal to legalize abortion in the European microstate, which is surrounded by Italy and home to 33,000 people. About 77 percent of those casting ballots in the referendum supported making abortion legal in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, rejecting a 150-year-old law that criminalized the procedure, according to official returns broadcast on San Marino RTV. Under the proposal, abortion also would be legal later in a pregnancy if the woman’s life or health is in danger. Next, San Marino’s Parliament will have to draft a bill formally legalizing abortion. San Marino, one of the world’s oldest republics, is one of the last European states to legalize abortion, which is still illegal in Malta and Andorra. Poland introduced a near-total ban this year. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

U.S. wins Ryder Cup in rout of normally dominant Europeans U.S. golfers on Sunday reclaimed the Ryder Cup for just the third time this century, completing a three-day rout of the previously dominant European team. American Patrick Cantlay remained undefeated in this year’s contest with a 4 and 2 win over Shane Lowry of Ireland at Whistling Straits golf course in Wisconsin. The American team included eight players under 30, the youngest American team in the 94 years of the event. Golf luminaries like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, who had led the squad since the 1990s, didn’t play. “This is the next era of Ryder Cup teams for the USA, and I wanted to send a message,” Cantlay said. “Everyone on our team has a killer’s instinct and we’re going to bring that to future Cups.” THE NEW YORK TIMES 

The End